Press Release

Art Production Fund is pleased to present Ryan McGinley: Taxi TV, one of the first public art installations to harness the format of Taxi TVs throughout New York City, from January 9th through February 5th 2013. The work is a 30 second version of McGinleyʼs original film for Icelandic band Sigur Rósʼ track Varúð, which features a magical golden haired girl skipping throughout the streets of New York.

The ethereal video documents the artistʼs friend Jessica Tang as she traverses the streets of Manhattan in slow motion, leaving a trail of stardust in her wake. McGinley captures a free-spirited and barefoot Tang, impervious to her surroundings as she passes the hectic world around her. Complimented by the bandʼs ambient sound, the video still from Sigur Rósʼ Varúð by Ryan McGinley presents a tranquil and mesmerizing portrait of the city. McGinley hopes to offer taxi riders a moment of calm amidst the bustling streets by presenting an homage to the city. "This piece is my poem to New York City,” the artist explained. “I wanted to bring a childhood innocence to the streets, through a character whose own light and wonder affect the world around her. Iʼm always interested in an atmosphere where dreams and reality mingle on equal terms."

The film will be displayed on NBC screens in 3,000 taxis and will not incorporate any logos or signage. “His portrayal of this magical girl skipping in such an authentic manner down the streets of New York will be exceptionally moving within a format that typically shows advertising and news,” said Art Production Co-Founders Doreen Remen and Yvonne Force Villareal. The total impressions of the project are estimated to reach over 2 million.

McGinley is best known for documenting youth culture and capturing the youthful essence of his subjects in a variety of settings. The artist began documenting his friends on the Lower East Side during his teens, and has since broadened his subject matter to include Olympic athletes, artists and other visionaries. Recently, he has worked on simplistic portraits that truly encapsulate the fundamental nature of each of his subjects. In July 2012, McGinley was commissioned by Sigur Rós as part of its “Valtari Mystery Film Experiment” to create a film in response to the bandʼs new album valtari.

Ryan McGinley (b. 1977) is an American artist based in New York. His work has appeared in prestigious collections of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., among many others. He has also had solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA PS1, MUSAC in Spain, and Kunsthalle in Vienna.